Born into a family of wrestlers, he joined the Uttar Pradesh under-19 team with Mohammed Kaif, Suresh Raina, R.P. Singh and Piyush Chawla in 2000.

The turning point in Kumar's career was his first Ranji season, when he took 41 wickets and scored 368 runs. His consistency - 90 wickets in two first-class seasons - earned him a call-up to the India A squad touring Kenya in 2007.

He has not represented India since 2012 in any of the three formats. (ANI)